Kasich backs a deal on federal debt

Thursday

Gov. John Kasich made clear where he stands on the gridlock surrounding the federal debt ceiling in Washington, and it's not necessarily with his golfing buddy and fellow Republican John Boehner.

Gov. John Kasich made clear where he stands on the gridlock surrounding the federal debt ceiling in Washington, and it's not necessarily with his golfing buddy and fellow Republican John Boehner.

Kasich, while on MSNBC's Morning Joe program yesterday, said he'd strike a deal with President Barack Obama to raise the federal debt limit, cut spending and close corporate tax loopholes.

Last weekend, Boehner, the U.S. House speaker from West Chester, backed away from a deal with Obama and said he would not pursue any agreement that raises taxes. Boehner also said that many House Republicans will not vote to raise the debt ceiling.

"If you want to put your head in the sand, and you want to put yourself in the position of where you let America default, you've got to be kidding me," Kasich said during his TV appearance.

Kasich, who made the rounds on some national talk shows as part of his trip to New York, made similar comments during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

Kasich and Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough served in Congress together for part of the 1990s.

Kasich said that although he would oppose Obama's push to raise tax rates on the rich, the president's offer to close some corporate tax loopholes and generate revenue as part of a broader deal to cut spending and raise the debt level was "a good compromise."

Kasich also said that members of Congress who say they can't sell a deal to their political bases should "go out and be a leader."

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, said he enjoyed Kasich's appearance on Morning Joe and did not take it as a dig on House Republicans.

"House Republicans, led by the speaker, have been 100 percent clear on what they need," he said, adding that they want spending cuts, entitlement reform and no tax increases.

U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, said stylistically, Kasich and Boehner are in the same place. Both agree on the fundamentals: no tax increases and dramatic spending cuts.

Also yesterday, a group of protesters gathered outside New York's Racquet and Tennis Club while Kasich was there for a Republican Governors Association fundraiser, according to a news release. The protesters numbered around 100 and were made up of New York Democratic activists, union members and a few Ohioans who were in the city, said Greg Beswick of the Buckeye Strategy Group.

Beswick said the protest was formed in opposition to Ohio's new collective-bargaining law.

Dispatch wire services contributed to this story.

jvardon@dispatch.com jwehrman@dispatch.com

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